Ismail Ould Bedde Ould Cheikh Sidiya


Ismail Ould Bedde Ould Cheikh Sidiya is a Mauritanian politician serving as the 15th and current Prime Minister of Mauritania since 5 August 2019. He headed the Ministry of Housing, Town Planning and Regional Development from 2009 to 2014, as well as once being president of the Nouadhibou Free Zone. He was one of the founding members of the Union for the Republic party.

Biography

Sidiya was born in Boutilimit and holds an engineering degree from Central School of Paris, with his graduate studies between Toulouse and Paris.
Sidiya began his career as head of the Bureau of Studies and Programming of the National Industrial and Mining Company then General Manager of CompuNet. He became the General Manager of the ETASCO Research Department before becoming coordinator of the new town project of Boutilimit. He was the general director of the government agency in charge of the town of Tindame's reconstruction after it was washed away by torrential rains in 2008. He served as the Minister of Housing, Town Planning and Regional Development from 2009 to 2014, as well as once being president of the Nouadhibou Free Zone. He did not have a specific position after this period but continued working with his political party.
On 3 August 2019, Sidiya was designated as the Prime Minister of Mauritania by President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, who Sidiya had campaigned for in the Gorgol Region. Some observers criticized his appointment as a continuation of the old system.

Politics

In 2010, as the Minister of Housing, Town Planning and Regional Development, Sidiya stated that the housing problem was exacerbated by economic inequality and that homelessness was the most pressing factor in poverty and exclusion, as well as noting that most of the Arab world were struggling with increased rural flight and urbanization over the past decades. He stated that Mauritania had a plan to remove outlying districts of Nouakchott, regional capitals, and inner cities to allow the poor to access resources, though he did not state how.